38 U.S. Code § 5304 - Prohibition against duplication of benefits

(1)Except as provided in section
1414 of title
10 or to the extent that retirement pay is waived under other provisions of law, not more than one award of pension, compensation, emergency officers’, regular, or reserve retirement pay, or initial award of naval pension granted after July 13, 1943, shall be made concurrently to any person based on such person’s own service or concurrently to any person based on the service of any other person.

(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection and of section
5305 of this title, pension under section
1521 or
1541 of this title may be paid to a person entitled to receive retired or retirement pay described in section
5305 of this title concurrently with such person’s receipt of such retired or retirement pay if the annual amount of such retired or retirement pay is counted as annual income for the purposes of chapter
15 of this title.

(b)

(1)Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection and in section
1521(i) of this title, the receipt of pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation by a surviving spouse, child, or parent on account of the death of any person, or receipt by any person of pension or compensation on account of such person’s own service, shall not bar the payment of pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation on account of the death or disability of any other person.

(2)Benefits other than insurance under laws administered by the Secretary may not be paid or furnished to or on account of any child by reason of the death of more than one parent in the same parental line; however, the child may elect one or more times to receive benefits by reason of the death of any one of such parents.

(3)Benefits other than insurance under laws administered by the Secretary may not be paid to any person by reason of the death of more than one person to whom such person was married; however, the person may elect one or more times to receive benefits by reason of the death of any one spouse.

(c)Pension, compensation, or retirement pay on account of any person’s own service shall not be paid to such person for any period for which such person receives active service pay.

1964—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 88–664inserted “or concurrently to any person based on the service of any other person” after “own service”.

1960—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 86–495substituted provisions prohibiting the payment or furnishing of benefits other than insurance to or on account of any child by reason of the death of more than one parent in the same parental line, and permitting the child to elect one or more times to receive benefits by reason of the death of any one of such parents, for provisions which prohibited the payment of dependency and indemnity compensation to or on account of a child by reason of the death of another parent where the child receives or there is paid by the Veterans’ Administration on account of a child dependency and indemnity compensation, or death compensation, by reason of the death of a parent.

Pub. L. 86–495, § 2,June 8, 1960, 74 Stat. 163, provided that: “The amendment made by this Act [amending this section] shall apply only to cases where the death of a parent occurs after the date of enactment of this Act [June 8, 1960].”

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